Heat pumps are the future for keeping homes warm as they are a low carbon and efficient way of heating your home despite the cold. They are the future and Clare and her family shared her story about fitting a heat pump.
Lots of people aren’t aware that heat pumps are three times more efficient than gas boilers
There’s a lot of headlines about them around at the moment and sadly a lot of misinformation too designed to put people off buying them. There’s a myth that they’re noisy but that’s not true as they operate around 40 decibels which, is the same noise level as a fridge for comparison.
There’s a rumour that they require under floor heating, but it’s not a necessity in order to get one fitted. However, you may need larger radiators as the fluid is heated to a lower temperature.
Better than boilers
Lots of people aren’t aware but they’re three times more efficient than gas boilers and they’re better for the environment too. There are significant government grants available to help pay for the upfront cost and there are Government targets in place to ensure enough people in the UK are switching to a heat source that’s better for the UK and the planet.
How do they work?
Put in simple terms, they work by extracting heat from the ground or air outside, compressing the air and then circulating the heat around the home to keep it warm. Because they store heat, you will need a hot water tank. They’re incredibly efficient and in a survey last year, 80 percent of households with them fitted said they were satisfied with their heat pumps as a heating system.
In order to help meet UK climate targets, the UK government want to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028 but unfortunately at the moment they’re falling pretty far behind that target. In fact, only 55,000 were sold in 2022 and around 5,000 a month in 2024 so there’s a way to go to improve consumer confidence.
Do they work in cold climates? The answer is a definite yes.
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Efficient heating whatever the temperature
One of the main concerns people talk to me about is do they work in cold climates. The answer is a definite yes with heat pumps widely installed throughout Scandinavian countries that have far colder winters than we do in the UK.
They have a very energy-efficient closed loop way of heating your home and recovering waste heat and as they run off electricity, which is increasingly powered by wind and solar rather than imported gas, they produce no direct pollution. Using a fabric first approach, proper insulation is essential – as it is with all types of heating – otherwise you’re paying to heat rooms and for that conditioned, warm air to escape through leaky walls, lofts and windows.
They’re more affordable than people think
The economics of heat pumps are improving every year and the sums are even better if you live off the gas grid so are reliant on expensive oil or LPG to heat your home.
They are more expensive to install than a gas boiler but with free money from the government grant they’re a lot more affordable than many people think. The boiler upgrade scheme (BUS) in England is worth up to £7,500 and if you’re in Scotland you can get financial support of up to £15,000 to buy and install a heat pump. There’s misinformation that they can only be installed in new builds too but that’s not the case at all.
Searching ‘get a heat pump’ will bring you a lot of suppliers who can talk you through what might work and what might be best – it’s vital installers are registered with the Microgeneration Certificate Scheme and you get one that’s the right size. For example I know people who went too big when it comes to their heat pump, which incurred extra costs.
Look before you buy
The Energy Saving Trust have a great heat pumps page here: https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/energy-at-home/heating-your-home/heat-pumps/ and NESTA the innovation agency for social good have a great page here too: https://www.nesta.org.uk/project-updates/heat-pumps-user-journey/
They even have an initiative where you can visit a heat pump in situ and homeowners who are happy with them have signed up. You can search your nearest home here to see one in action and talk to people who have them: https://www.visitaheatpump.com
Finally, beware of any engineer trying to sell you a gas or oil boiler instead of a heat pump, especially if they claim the boilers are hydrogen ready especially by repeating some of the myths mentioned above. In particular, hydrogen ready boilers have no role to play in home heating due to costs, pollution and safety concerns. Heat pumps, like wind farms and electric cars, are a superior product and they may be novel now but will soon be standard and that’s good news to help secure a safe future and stay warm this winter.
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